Well my daddy left home when I was threeAnd he didn't leave much to Ma and meJust this old guitar and an empty bottle of boozeNow I don't blame him because he run and hidBut the meanest thing that he ever didWas before he left he went and named me Sue

Well he must have thought it was quite a jokeAnd it got lots of laughs from a lot of folksIt seems I had to fight my whole life throughSome gal would giggle and I'd get redAnd some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his headI tell ye life ain't easy for a boy named Sue

Well I grew up quick and I grew up meanMy fist got hard and my wits got keenRoamed from town to town to hide my shameBut I made me vow to the moon and starsI'd search the honky tonks and barsAnd kill that man that gave me that awful name

Well it was Gatlinsburg in mid JulyAnd I just hit town and my throat was dryI'd thought I'd stop and have myself a brewAt an old saloon on a street of mudThere at a table dealing studSat that dirty mangy dog that named me Sue

Well I knew that sneak was my own sweet dadFrom a wornout picture that my mother hadAnd I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eyeHe was big and bent and gray and oldAnd I looked at him and my blood ran coldAnd I said my name is Sue how do you do now you're gonna dieYeah that's what I told him

Well I hit him hard right between the eyesAnd he went down but to my surpriceHe got up with a knife and cut off a piece of my earBut I busted a chair right across his teethAnd we crashed through the wall and into the streetKickin' and a gougin' in the mud and the blood and the beer

I tell you I've fought tougher menBut I really can't remember whenHe kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodileI heard him laughin' and I heard him cussin'He went for his gun and I pulled mine firstHe stood there looking at me and I saw him smile

He said son this world is roughAnd if a man's gonna make it he's gotta be toughAnd I know I wouldn't be there to help you alongSo I gave you that name and I said goodbyeI knew you'd have to get tough or dieAnd it's that name that helped to make you strong

Yeah he said now you have just fought one helluva fightAnd I know you hate me and you've got the rightTo kill me now and I wouldn't blame you if you doBut you oughta thank me before I dieFor the gravel in your guts and the spit in your eyeBecause I'm the son of a bitch that named you Sue

Yeah what could I do what could I doI got all choked up and I threw down my gunCalled him Pa and he called me sonAnd I come away with a different point of viewAnd I think about him now and thenEvery time I tried every time I winAnd if I ever have a sonI think I'm gonna name him Bill or George anything but Sue